Barmen Theses Then and Now

In 1934 Christian churches in Germany faced strong pressure to conform their belief and practice to the pillars of Nazi thinking respect for the authority of the Fhrer and fervent devotion to the history and culture of the German race. Defying this ideological agenda, leaders in the German Evangelical Church responded by adopting the Barmen Declaration. This bold statement of dissent, grounded in the authority of Scripture, has since become a powerful model for the contemporary confession of the Christian faith against modern forms of skepticism and unbelief. In The Barmen Theses Then and Now Eberhard Busch demonstrates to a new generation how that key German confession during a specific time of crisis can guide Christians everywhere today. He interprets each of the six theses in its original context Nazi Germany and then applies it to crucial cultural and political challenges facing Christianity in our time. Eberhard Busch makes an important contribution to our understanding of the events in Germany that led to the writing of the Barmen Declaration in 1934 the response of a small group of Protestants to the emergence of Hitler and the Nazi Party. Even more importantly, Busch demonstrates the relevance of Barmen for many issues confronting the church today such issues as the relation between Christians and Jews, the meaning of Christian freedom, the church and its mission, the role of the laity, and the task of the church in the political order. In Buschs able hands Barmen becomes a living voice that is no less important for the church today than it was for Christians in the 1930s. George Stroup Columbia Theological Seminary